QUEENS — Jamaica residents will kick off the holiday season with a tree lighting ceremony this weekend during which everyone will be served hot chocolate and kids will receive free brand-new toys, the organizers said.
The event, which will be held at Rufus King Park this Saturday, Dec. 13, is “to celebrate holidays in the community of Jamaica,” said Valerie Stevens of the Jamaica Center Business Improvement District, which organizes the event with Cultural Collaborative Jamaica.
Stevens said the goal is “to provide gifts and toys for those who may not be able to provide their children with” Christmas presents.
Queens Elite Marching Band and York College Youth Initiative Choir will perform during the event. Participants will also receive holiday coupons from local stores, the organizers said.
The BID will also hand out free hot chocolate and gifts for children on Dec. 17 in front of an Old Navy store (Jamaica Avenue, between Parsons Boulevard and 160th Street) and on Dec. 24 in front of Claire’s (Jamaica Avenue, between 164th and 165th streets). Both events will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Also on Saturday, Dec. 13, King Manor Museum will host a free workshop for kids, during which they will learn how to make “traditional holiday decorations, including gingerbread houses and pomanders, which are citrus fruit pierced with cloves that also work as a natural air freshener,” said Emily Schwartz of the museum. Younger children will be working on simpler decorations, she said.
Families will be able to hear a story about wintertime on a farm in the 19th century and they will go a special holiday tour of the museum, located in Rufus King Park, where traditional holiday decorations will be on display, the museum said.
The program will begin at noon and end at 3 p.m.
The tree lighting ceremony will take place at 6 p.m. on Dec. 13 at Rufus King Park (corner of 89th Avenue and 153rd Street). Parents who want their kids to receive free toys have to register online.
